The sinuous snaketail is currently ranked S2S4 as a "potential species of concern" in Montana because it is potentially at risk of extirpation in the state due to limited and/or declining numbers, range and/or habitat, even though it may be abundant in some areas. Recent collections are expanding our knowledge and its known distribution in the state (Kohler, pers. comm.)

A more restrictive range western snaketail with distinctive anterior striped thorax (Paulson 2009). Found in slow flowing sandy to rocky streams and rivers throughout the western part of the state. Overlaps in the western part of the state with the Pale Snaketail, but can usually be found in larger streams than this species.

Diagnostic Characteristics

distinctive wavy striped thorax will distinguish this species from other snaketails(Paulson 2009), nymphs are inseperable.

Species Range

Montana Range

Year-round

Range Comments

This species is widespread in western North America and has been reported in the following states: California (SNR), Montana (S2S4), Nevada (SNR), Oregon (SNR), Utah (SH), Washington (S5) and in Canada's British Columbia (S4). It has not been reported in Idaho, but is most likely present , just not documented yet.

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

Habitat

The Sinuous Snaketail prefers slow-flowing, sandy and gravelly, large streams and rivers usually in mountainous areas at lower elevations. They have also been encountered at lakes with rock or gravel bottoms in the northern part of their range, although it is unknown if they do indeed breed at these locations (Dunkle 2000, Paulson 2009).

Ecological Systems Associated with this Species

Details on Creation and Suggested Uses and Limitations

How Associations Were Made
We associated the use and habitat quality (common or occasional) of each of the 82 ecological systems mapped in Montana for
vertebrate animal species that regularly breed, overwinter, or migrate through the state by:

Evaluating structural characteristics and distribution of each ecological system relative to the species' range and habitat requirements;

Examining the observation records for each species in the state-wide point observation database associated with each ecological system;

Calculating the percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system to get a measure of "observations versus availability of habitat".

Species that breed in Montana were only evaluated for breeding habitat use, species that only overwinter in Montana were only evaluated for overwintering habitat use, and species that only migrate through Montana were only evaluated for migratory habitat use.
In general, species were listed as associated with an ecological system if structural characteristics of used habitat documented in the literature were present in the ecological system or large numbers of point observations were associated with the ecological system.
However, species were not listed as associated with an ecological system if there was no support in the literature for use of structural characteristics in an ecological system, even if point observations were associated with that system.
Common versus occasional association with an ecological system was assigned based on the degree to which the structural characteristics of an ecological system matched the preferred structural habitat characteristics for each species as represented in scientific literature.
The percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system was also used to guide assignment of common versus occasional association.
If you have any questions or comments on species associations with ecological systems, please contact the Montana Natural Heritage Program's Senior Zoologist.

Suggested Uses and Limitations
Species associations with ecological systems should be used to generate potential lists of species that may occupy broader landscapes for the purposes of landscape-level planning.
These potential lists of species should not be used in place of documented occurrences of species (this information can be requested at: http://mtnhp.org/requests/default.asp) or systematic surveys for species and evaluations of habitat at a local site level by trained biologists.
Users of this information should be aware that the land cover data used to generate species associations is based on imagery from the late 1990s and early 2000s and was only intended to be used at broader landscape scales.
Land cover mapping accuracy is particularly problematic when the systems occur as small patches or where the land cover types have been altered over the past decade.
Thus, particular caution should be used when using the associations in assessments of smaller areas (e.g., evaluations of public land survey sections).
Finally, although a species may be associated with a particular ecological system within its known geographic range, portions of that ecological system may occur outside of the species' known geographic range.

Maxell, B.A. 2000. Management of Montana's amphibians: a review of factors that may present a risk to population viability and accounts on the identification, distribution, taxonomy, habitat use, natural history, and the status and conservation of individual species. Report to U.S. Forest Service Region 1. Missoula, MT: Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana. 161 p.

Larvae feed on a wide variety of aquatic insects, such as mosquito larvae, other aquatic fly larvae, mayfly larvae, and freshwater shrimp. They will also eat very small fish and tadpoles. Adult- The dragonfly will eat almost any soft-bodied flying insect including mosquitoes, flies, small moths, mayflies, and flying ants or termites.

Reproductive Characteristics

Both male and female Sinuous Snaketails tend to stay away from breeding sites early in the day, preferring to perch in nearby forested or shrubby flats instead. Males make long patrols through habitat searching for females and then often fly away from the water. Copulation occurs away from water, at rest and often high in trees. Females oviposit in rapid flight by tapping the water and splashing into water (Dunkle 2000, Paulson 2009).